The first year of this three year project was concerned almost exclusively with the development of population specific measures and appropriate methodologies for survey data collection procedures on black Americans. In the coming year we plan to interview a national sample of 2,500 black American adults using the instrument and procedures developed during the exploratory year, which included two large pretests and input from an interdisciplinary national advisory panel. We believe that it was crucial to empirically verify the accuracy and meaningfulness of measures and procedures prior to the planned national survey in the coming year. The work conducted in the current year and projected for the subsequent period will hopefully avoid many previous problems and permit us to obtain valid estimates of the interrelationships among the variables of substantive interest. In addition to both the general and specific conceptual and methodological objectives, there are several practical, scientific, and substantive objectives of this national study. Among these are: An investigation of the interrelationships among identity (both self and group), formal and informal support systems, mental health indices, employment/ unemployment and utilizaton of mental health resources; The creation of a national data base for comparison with past less systematic research and future national and local studies, and; The creation of a national resource for other scholars and as a training vehicle for researchers and students.